"Dysfunctional hell."
That's how he describes it, years later.
The coach, in his first days on the job at one of college football's most prominent programs, walked into the office of the former staff's recruiting coordinator and stared at the big board. He asked who the most important player available was, and he was pointed toward a 5-star defensive lineman who was down to three schools.
The program was struggling, falling further behind its conference rivals and bleeding relevance with each passing day. Sonofagun, he needed that kid.
Three days later, he had the recruit and his father in his office.
The father plopped down on the sofa and laid out what it would take for this thirtysomething first-time head coach to earn his son's letter of intent.
"His father told me it would take 'more than words,'" the coach remembers. "I said, 'I promise you there is nothing more valuable than my word.'
"He said to me, 'A man's word only holds as much weight as his wallet.'"
(continues, including Bowden opens up about pay for play ledger at Auburn)
Bleacher Report link
That's how he describes it, years later.
The coach, in his first days on the job at one of college football's most prominent programs, walked into the office of the former staff's recruiting coordinator and stared at the big board. He asked who the most important player available was, and he was pointed toward a 5-star defensive lineman who was down to three schools.
The program was struggling, falling further behind its conference rivals and bleeding relevance with each passing day. Sonofagun, he needed that kid.
Three days later, he had the recruit and his father in his office.
The father plopped down on the sofa and laid out what it would take for this thirtysomething first-time head coach to earn his son's letter of intent.
"His father told me it would take 'more than words,'" the coach remembers. "I said, 'I promise you there is nothing more valuable than my word.'
"He said to me, 'A man's word only holds as much weight as his wallet.'"
(continues, including Bowden opens up about pay for play ledger at Auburn)
Bleacher Report link